“The largest and most powerful” telescope ever launched into space will reach the stars on December 18th.
His name is James Webb, he is the "little brother" of the Hubble telescope and it will be launched from French Guiana, Arianespace announced Wednesday.
Much awaited by astrophysicists, it allows the confines of the Universe to be observed with unparalleled precision.
This huge space observatory was built in the United States under the direction of NASA, and incorporates instruments from European (ESA) and Canadian (CSA) space agencies.
With its 6.5 tons and its folding mirror over 6 meters in diameter, this telescope is a technological feat, developed for a budget of around 10 billion dollars.
A launch 20 years late
The JWST was initially supposed to be launched in the 2000s but experienced many delays, in particular because of its great complexity. Its launch, repeatedly postponed, was finally scheduled for October, then slightly postponed at the end of 2021. It will leave Earth on December 18 from the European spaceport of Kourou, in French Guyana, aboard a European Ariane 5 rocket. The date was set in coordination with Arianespace after final tests and the success of the Ariane 5 flight in July - the first flight in a year -, underlines NASA for its part.
"We are extremely honored to place the James Webb Space Telescope in orbit with Ariane, a first for the European space team" which has been working on this project "for 14 years", welcomes Stéphane Israël, CEO of Arianespace.
"Together, we overcame the technical hurdles as well as the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic," adds Gregory Robinson, director of the James Webb program at NASA.
The first ages of the explored Universe
JWST will explore all phases of the cosmos, down to the early ages of the Universe and the formation of the first galaxies.
It will be placed in orbit around the Sun, 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, well beyond the limits of its big brother Hubble, which has been operating at an altitude of 600 km since 1990.
The JWST is currently in its "final configuration" at its main manufacturer Northrop Grumman in California, according to NASA.
Its embarkation for Guyana by sea is scheduled for October.
The telescope is named after a former NASA administrator James Web (between 1961 and 1968).
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